U.S. can do better on minimum wage

In response to Mike Thayer's Jan. 14 guest opinion about getting government out of the minimum wage business, I would like to point out several problems. Thayer states that 4.7 percent of the workforce earns the minimum wage, and says that since that number is so small, we shouldn't worry about a problem that barely exists. Since this represents 3.6 million workers, I would argue with this logic.

But more importantly, the number cited refers to those earning at or below the minimum wage. If you earn 5 cents more per hour, you do not show up in these statistics. It is much more relevant to look at workers earning close to the minimum wage.

In a paper published by the Economic Policy Institute (August, 2012), it was estimated that an increase in the Federal minimum wage from $7.50 to $9.80 per hour by July 2014 would raise the wages of 28 million workers. This represents almost 37 percent of our workforce.

Furthermore, in a paper by the Congressional Research Service (September, 2013), minimum wage was compared to inflation over a 75 year period. That paper showed that in 1968, the minimum wage of $1.60 was equivalent to $10.77 in today's dollars.

This means that today's minimum wage workers earn $3.52 less per hour than their peers in 1968.

To borrow an idea from the conservative side of the aisle, we need to stop subsidizing low wage paying businesses. These workers often have to supplement their wages with food stamps and other programs just to get by.

It was estimated that low wages cost taxpayers at least a quarter-trillion dollars per year. This is a real cost to taxpayers like Thayer. The current minimum wage is really the current poverty wage.

We can and should do better.

Jim Tucker

Iowa City

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U.S. can do better on minimum wage

In response to Mike Thayer's Jan. 14 guest opinion about getting government out of the minimum wage business, I would like to point out several problems.